NBA Tuesday: Spurs throttle Heat, Warriors outlast Rockets in rematch of West Finals

There’s no timetable for Gasol’s return, but he’s expected to make a full recovery The injury is a non-displaced Type II fracture of the navicular bone, and Kevin Lipe of the Memphis Flyer reports this type of navicular fracture isn’t the kind that’s career-threatening as long as the rehab goes smoothly.

Gasol is in the first season of a five-year, $110 million contract he signed last summer to remain in Memphis. He hadn’t missed a game this year and averaged 16.6 points, seven rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 blocks before going down with the injury.

But, then the fourth quarter started, and the Warriors did what they always do. They pulled away and went on to win, 123-110, to move to 47-4 on the season and remain undefeated at home. It’s the best start in NBA history through 51 games.

Curry was ridiculous in the first quarter. He had 16 points and was 5 of 6 from deep, only missing a 30-foot heave trying to beat the buzzer as the Warriors jumped out to a 42-27 lead.

Draymond Green is a frequent arguer of calls. He’s already tallied 11 technical fouls this season, many from him voicing his displeasure at calls. Well, it appears he’s finally getting good at that whole arguing thing. Not only did he not get a tech for arguing a call on Tuesday, he apparently got a referee to say he was wrong.

That sure looks like the referee saying “I’m wrong” which he should have after what appeared to be a pretty bad call when Green blocked Patrick Beverley’s layup attempt. It didn’t rescind the foul or change anything, but at least Green’s arguing finally paid off.

Hayward had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists, but it was Rodney Hood’s 29 points that made the difference for the Jazz, who moved to 26-25 with the win.

Right in the thick of the race for the eighth playoff spot in the West, wins like this in February can make a huge difference in May.

Good grief that is a spin and a slam. Here’s one more look for good measure:

It’s sounds like it was a pretty unfortunate fall out for McHale.

Kobe Bryant is a notoriously competitive person. It’s one of the traits that makes Kobe himself. Occasionally stories from Bryant’s teammates leak out about some competitive moment. Even this year, he took over practice and dominated after a little trash talk.

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue shared a new Kobe practice story and it’s possibly the best yet. According to Lue, he once blocked Bryant’s dunk attempt during a practice. Pinned it against the glass, in fact, leading to the game-winning bucket the other way. Bryant did not take the result well. “He went crazy,” Lue told ESPN. “Kobe wanted to fight me at first and then, second, he wanted to play one-on-one after practice.”